Patti Davis, the daughter of former President Reagan, is telling President Trump’s adult children that they shouldn’t be involved in their father’s presidential campaign and “pull the family card” for benefits.
Davis, who was 28 when her father was elected to the White House, told The New York Times that the Trump children must appreciate the line between family and administration.
“Choose one role or the other,” Davis, a frequent critic of Trump, told the newspaper. “If you’re going to have your fingers in the campaign and all that, then you don’t get to pull the family card.”{mosads}
The criticism comes as the president’s four adult children accompany him on a three-day state visit to the United Kingdom.
CNN noted that Queen Elizabeth II formally invited just the president and first lady Melania Trump to the state banquet Monday at Buckingham Palace, but several of his children also attended the royal dinner.
The president’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, were set to attend in their official capacities as White House advisers.
Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and his wife Lara, and Tiffany Trump also joined the festivities. The president’s two adult sons currently run the Trump Organization and often act as Republican surrogates. Lara Trump is an adviser on her father-in-law’s 2020 reelection campaign.
Barron Trump, the president’s 13-year-old son with the first lady, did not travel with his family.
Gwenda Blair, the author of “The Trumps: Three Generations That Built an Empire,” told the Times that the Trumps are appearing to present themselves like the unofficial royal family.
“He’s surrounding himself with his family in this kind of certainly royal family, prince-and-princesses way,” Blair said. “Just as traditionally crowned heads surrounded themselves with their progeny, he has surrounded himself with his progeny.”
The president reportedly pitched the idea of his children holding a “next generation” meeting with Princes William and Harry.
“I think my children will be meeting them. It would be nice,” Trump told British tabloid newspaper The Sun.